As you may know, I recently had my first official day being a full time employee. That day was also my best day and also most nerve-wracking day. I have had plenty of first days of interning, which I thought would prepare me for this and in a few ways it did and in others it didn’t. Here are the few tips that I followed for the first day and weeks to come being new at a job:

Dress to impress. That doesn’t always mean stiletto heels but rather wearing something that shows your personality while being what you would find appropriate if you saw someone else wearing. I went with this structured sweater as I knew it would be appropriate with a pair of nice black jeans, a nice black blouse, and tiny black heels. I am a person who would also always recommend all black whenever possible, plus the sweater showed my own personal style.

Be a sponge. One month in and I am still absolutely learning everything. The PR world is not easy to learn but I am lucky to be around a great group of people who are happy to help me, as well as a great boss who will always answer questions. When we have team meetings, I always sit and listen while writing down whatever notes I think will be helpful to me later on.

Do not bring desk items. The first day or week is not a time to bring desk supplies to make it look cute or personalize, in my opinion. I think the focus should always be learning new things and meeting new all the new co-workers. I am still waiting to bring desk decor in but so far I have a little clipboard to keep all my papers on. Being new, I am still waiting to see what everyone else has. When you feel right then start bringing things in to make your desk your own!

Be okay with messing up. Learning how to properly memo and schedule and email and send press breaks and pitch is not going to happen overnight, no matter how much you intern. With over ten internships under my belt, I thought that I absolutely would have a bit of a clue as to what I was doing but I learned that it is a process. I have been told many times it will take about six months to start to feel comfortable so, in the meanwhile, I will be okay with red pen on my schedules because I now get to use that to learn for the future ones.

Hi all! Thank you for the warm welcomes, I am so excited to be able to bring back NYC PR Girls as this was such a great resource for me during my past few years at a small school in Rhode Island.

Also, thank you for hanging in there while I finally got settled in New York and waiting a little bit for my first post!

With a lot of new changes this year like starting a new job and weirdly no longer interning, finally being settled and living in my New York apartment, and graduating early from school, I have been thinking about the different ways to start the new year as strong as I can to set myself up for the best year yet.

While I did not make resolutions this year, I think I made a great goal which is simply to make every day count.

This goal allows me to work on my relationships with those close to me, while helping me to work towards producing the best work I can, staying in contact with those I have made connections with over the year, and simply working on keeping myself at my best!

This year I am going to:

Embrace change- when working in the world of PR there is so much change so take it in strides and embrace all that is happening. Really learn to go with the flow because if I’ve learned anything from to-do lists while interning it is that the list you think you need to complete each day just might not happen. PR is such a fast-paced industry that right now I am just working to keep up and be present in every moment.

Prioritize- one of my main priorities this year is my job. After interning for three years at countless companies, I am at the place I wanted to be and as excited as I am, I want to show up to work and work hard to ask the right questions and understand each task. That will come with time but for right now, I need to prioritize to do lists and my job first and foremost in my life then I can start brining all the other aspects back in. My friends and family all understand this – support systems are key!

Reflect- at least for the first month! I am so excited to reflect on the last year and see what I can do to do better. One tool that I received as a graduation gift from my aunt is a book called: Where will you be five years from today?. This book is my absolute favorite right now because I get to write out my plans, thoughts, and ideas.

Lastly, this year I will be happy. It is not a simple task but I am excited to be in the place I am at right now so I am going to work hard to be happy.

I am so excited to share this chapter of my life with you all!

But what about this great community, what are you all trying to accomplish this year?!

We are so proud of this blog and the impact it has made on PR girls (and guys) everywhere these past 5 years. However, as we’ve advanced in our careers and taken on more exciting responsibilities, we can no longer serve the blog as we wish we could.

Enter Lindsey.

Lindsey has spent the past several years with her nose to the grindstone, holding more, incredibly impressive public relations internships than either of us has ever seen, and just made her leap from college into her first New York City apartment. In every way, she embodies what nyc PR girls stands for.

We are so pleased to pass nycPRgirls.com to Lindsey to care for. A and I will always be a part of this amazing community, but we’re so happy to give the blog a voice again.

Wish I had some exciting things to report today, but I really don’t! The past month, Adrianna and I have been up to our eyeballs in new business opportunities and job responsibilities. With a crazy winter that didn’t want to let up, the office took control. The weekends have been necessary for relaxing and recuperating. Admittedly, the blog took a backseat.

However, it has been so heartwarming to continue to receive emails and see that you are still using the site as a resource for your career. We would love to hear what you all have coming up (it’s almost time for the summer internship/post-grad job search!), and are here to help out. In the meantime, here are a few things I’m looking forward to over the next few weeks:

Changing out my wardrobe – This weekend, I pushed all my heavy sweaters to the back of my closet in an act of defiance, and brought out lighter tops, cardigans, and skirts. What I did realize is that in my purging-decluttering phase early this year after my S.O. moved in, I got rid of a lot of spring and summer clothes as well. Good thing, because my tastes have changed. Bad thing, because I need to make some budget changes to shop. Old Navy and J. Crew Factory are having great deals on spring staples now, if you’re in the same boat.

More do-able schedule – As evidenced by the lack of posts for almost a month, my to-do list got out of hand in February. A lot of this had to do with rearranging priorities and trying to make time for myself among the responsibilities of my job. I’ve now joined a gym that is right next to my apartment so I can easily work out for just 20-30 minutes without a fuss, I’ve made habit of going “big” grocery shopping for the week, once a week, via Instacart, and I make sure I do something fun, mindless, and new (like watch a movie on the couch or play Candy Crush) for at least an hour each night. Even popping in a new film I haven’t seen before helps me feel better about ending my day than watching reruns of Modern Family for the bazillionth time.

Working on my work habits – Since my job is still going through the ups and downs of the new year, this is a great time to be working on my overall career skills. The biggest one for me is time management. I’m the worst procrastinator, but I’ve been learning a way to organize my day so I can feel relaxed while I go through my work.

Anything you want some help on in the career, life, or fashion department? We’re here to help (again!). Missed you guys! Xo